Scientists Identify Gene That
Helps Body Absorb Iron

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - British researchers have discovered a gene that plays a role in how mammals absorb iron from food. The finding could have implications for the study of iron-related problems in humans, such as anemia--a condition that results in fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness and headache.

Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to tissues throughout the body. Iron deficiency leads to anemia, and can also retard development.

``Another step has been made towards understanding the molecular basis for iron absorption,'' Dr. Andrew T. McKie from King's College London, UK, told Reuters Health. ``We now have a better understanding of how iron is absorbed from food.''

Specific enzymes control the conversion of iron into a form that can be absorbed by the body, and the genes controlling those enzymes have been discovered in yeast, plants and bacteria. However, none of the those genes had been discovered in mammals, so McKie and associates used new genetic techniques to search for and identify the gene involved in absorption of iron from the intestines.

The gene, known as Dcytb, proved to be similar to genes found in sheep and rabbits that produce other enzymes, the authors report.

The scientists also looked at how levels of Dcytb protein, which is produced by the Dcytb gene, changed in various iron metabolism disorders. In mice with chronic anemia, the researchers found that levels of Dcytb protein were elevated. The increase reflected the body's attempt to restore iron levels to normal.

Moreover, Dcytb protein levels rose when mice were fed iron-deficient diets, according to the report in the February 1st Sciencexpress, a publication of the journal Science. Low levels of oxygen, which stimulate the absorption of iron, also increased Dcytb protein levels.

The investigators found Dcytb protein in the region of the intestine most active in the absorption of dietary iron.

``Thus, Dcytb provides an important element in the iron absorption pathway,'' the authors conclude.

``Elucidation of the pathway for iron absorption may enable its enhancement or inhibition in conditions where it is disordered,'' McKie said. ``More realistically, elucidation of the intestinal iron uptake pathway should enable improved methods to predict, measure, and modify food iron absorption.''

SOURCE: Sciencexpress 2001;1126:1-9.

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